Merry Christmas 2021!

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Soul Monster
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Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by Soul Monster »

:christmas MERRY CHRISTMAS PCKF! :christmas

I hope all of you have a nice holiday, and don't forget to play a round of Xmas 2010 today! I know I'm going to as soon as I'm done on here tonight. I look forward to hearing how everyone's holiday goes, and what you all get this year.
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by proYorp »

Yay Christmas! :pogo I knew this thread was coming, and based off of warm anecdotes of tradition in the other holiday threads from this year I was inspired to write something along those lines. (In fact I would've started the thread myself if I'd finished writing it before you did lol. :p Been working on this in bits throughout this last week.)


- - -


One of my most cherished holiday traditions has always been Christmas music. I have fond childhood memories of every year after Thanksgiving, a stereo system in the living room would be playing Christmas music albums on loop for nearly the whole day (mostly old classics by artists such as Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Henry Mancini, to name a few). It'd go up until New Year's. During this time, every night my whole family would sing one Christmas song together at bedtime. Then on Christmas morning we might sing several.

Certain modern Christmas songs, however, I find to be more annoying than serene and inspiring as I expect Christmas music to be. I'm reminded of a video by a musician named Adam Neely titled "The Music You Hate" which explores a theory about why people hate the things they do, and it's something I think about a lot. I recommend watching it for yourself, but the gist of it is that the music one hates is not opposite to the music one loves, but rather something very similar to one's most beloved type of song, that somehow fails to meet one's expectation or feels "off" as if in some kind of uncanny valley. (And the concept can, I think, be applied to anything besides music as well -- I think we've all seen a pretty good example of that here....)

Going back to my own example I hinted at of that kind of aversion, I have some... annoyance towards cliche heartbreak songs that are about Christmas (and somehow labeled as "Christmas music"). It seems like such a bizarre (and frankly depressing) combination to me. It would be quite tempting for me to follow the (also very cliche) attitude of "back in my day, we didn't have such nonsense!" but in fact this would be a fallacy. This type of song existed long before I was born, we just never played them in my house. (Nostalgia does have a way of tinting our experiences, and a very rose-colored tint it is. There is a lot I could comment on about this, but I will simply leave a reference to a fascinating concept called "survivorship bias." Video explanation; clip of interest ends at timestamp 08:57.)


- - -


Another thing that has always been an important staple of Christmastime in my family is Christmas lights. It was always a big family event in my childhood, decorating for the season. Even on years when we were on a budget, there were always some strings of lights. Besides putting them on the tree, we often had them around the living room as well.

The warm glow of the rainbow fairy lights gave the room a new magical life, especially with the other lights turned off. They were arranged differently every year. Some of them blinked and sparkled. I could stare at them for hours, and I often did while I played with my toys in the living room. The arches of the hanging strings of lights made tunnels for my little Hot Wheels cars to drive through, even if I couldn't actually reach the lights so I just had to imagine that the cars passed through.



I often hear people complain about early or late Christmas decorations, and that doesn't make much sense to me. I figure any season occurs as a gradual change, as in Spring there may be a few early blooms before the world breaks out into a full chorus of fragrant petals. Or, in Autumn a few select species of tree may show their golden hues long before the rest (and some trees that never turn). There's probably a reason it was dubbed "the holiday season."

Maybe it's just my instinct to defend where I don't perceive anyone else doing so. Hearing people talk about what total strangers "should" be doing in their personal lives may be one of my biggest pet peeves. Everyone has a unique reason for the choices they make, which we can't see from the outside, but if we learn what it truly is, it will almost always make their choice seem much more valid to ourselves. If I remember correctly, when I was a child my family would try to make the Christmas tree and the decorations last as long as possible to get as much worth out of them (and the effort and cost it took to set up) as we could. Some people I know intentionally keep their lights up for a very long time because they love them so much.

Calling back to a recent holiday discussion, there's also the topic of inflatable decorations. Personally I don't think they look as nice as Christmas lights, but I can't complain about them either. Because I know that, somewhere out there, there is a little kid whose favorite thing in the whole world is pumping up the inflatable snowman every morning with their dad before he has to leave for work. I imagine the childlike thrill at seeing the snowman come to life as they get to spend this precious time together. For however tacky the inflatable figures might look, I remember this idea (perhaps more than loosely based upon some of my own childhood memories), that everything that has been created means something to someone out there, and am convinced that there must be something good about them.


- - -


Though it might not always look like it, things are improving.

Meanwhile the best thing we can do is to enjoy our own lives, and invest positivity into ourselves and those we affect.

Maybe someday we can learn again how to feel joy within such simple things as blinking lights, as was so easy to do as a child.

Merry Christmas.
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by DarkAle »

Merry Christmas :christmas :christmas
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by Benvolio »

Merry Christmas everyone!

Enjoying a quieter than usual Christmas Day (though not as quiet as last year which I spent alone). Some relatives were due to drop by for a socially distanced/well ventilated cup of tea but then they had a positive Lateral Flow test in the household so had to stay home. We did have our morning video call with my sister down in Australia so that was nice, whilst having our customary Christmas morning toast of Cidona in some nice old 1980s Disney glasses. All my friends seem to drink heavily throughout Christmas Day but in my family household it's much more sedate. (I made up for this yesterday though by having six Guinnesses in the pub). Today at lunchtime I had a small sweet sherry with some pâté and redcurrant jelly earlier. Now the turkey, stuffing (including sausage-meat stuffing) and potatoes are roasting away. Sadly no ham - my favourite bit - as the above mentioned relatives usually provide the ham. We'll just have to double down on sausage stuffing instead. I even braved the dour weather to retrieve sage and thyme from the garden. A nice Rioja is breathing in the gentle warmth of the kitchen. And the home made puddings (recipe having been handed down through at least four generations) have been cooked and are awaiting devouring in a short while. Might wind down with a little bit of Commander Keen later on.

I hope you all have a jolly old Christmas too!!
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by Syllypryde »

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by Soul Monster »

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I had a decent Christmas. Got some Simpsons DVDs, some Christmas chocolate, some new leather gloves, a jar of cocoa, and a little cash. Had roast beast and cheesy potatoes for dinner, and watched some Christmas movies and specials, the Rankin/Bass stuff in particular. Marathoned Christmas movies and shows (still am), which is one of my favorite traditions this time of year. Hope you all had a great Christmas, and were able to make the most of it given where things in the world are right now.
proYorp wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:25
Wonderful post, Proyorp! Couldn't have said it better myself! I can tell you put a lot of time into making this, and I really enjoyed reading it!

Christmas music is one of my favorite holiday traditions too. I am huge fans of the Christmas music by the examples you mentioned, alongside others including Perry Como, Andy Williams, and Burl Ives, and like you, I still have them playing after Christmas, although in my case, I'll still listen to them for the first few days into January. I do agree with you on the current state of Christmas music, and I'll have to give that video you mentioned a watch.

I too don't understand the reasoning behind the sadder tracks we hear this time of year, but at the same time I do. On one hand, I think it's odd that one would want to listen to some of those downer tracks during such a time of festivities and happiness, but we can't forget that Christmas does have a dark side to it, and not everyone gets to have that warm feeling of Christmas this time of the year. Maybe some people don't have many friends or family, maybe some people had families members pass, or they're just alone on Christmas for any possible reason, and this time of year is a cruel reminder of that fact to those people. Perhaps it just reminds them that they're not alone, that other people do have misfortune during Christmas too, and knowing that maybe makes them feel better.

Christmas lights are another favorite of mine this time of year. Decorating for Christmas is always nice because it always brightens things up on these cold winter days when the grass turns brown, the sky turns grey and all the trees are bare. I also like driving around and looking at lights, in fact as a kid I would drive around with my dad and look at lights around town, since there's plenty of neighborhoods that really do it up, plus there's a lot of parks and businesses that have started creating lights displays that you can drive through in recent years to make a little extra money during this pandemic. Usually I keep my decorations up well into January, when I put the Christmas stuff away, and bring out some Valentine's decorations for a while (some red lights and such), and then for the remainder of winter I still keep up the snowmen and put some white lights in the window.

Yeah, as for people complaining about putting up Christmas decorations up too early or too late, I don't get it either. I agree, busybodies really annoy me too, and I think people should be able to decide how they want to celebrate a holiday, and to what extent they want to. I'll admit I was a little late in fully decorating my place this year because I got a booster shot that took me out for a few days, and I had been replacing furniture that took a while. I'm not sure if I mentioned this elsewhere on here, but I don't look at holidays as a single day, but rather a season, which I think helps us to enjoy these times of the year more because of that. I'm with you, I try to keep my decorations up as long as possible to make the most of them, and to brighten things up on these dreary, winter days.

Ah yes, my ramblings on inflatable decorations. I guess I should explain my disdain for them. So years ago, I actually did try to put a few of these decorations up, and they were very, very flimsy, and they get holes in them very easily, ruining the entire decoration. Over the years I've seen the quality of decorations drop lower and lower, and when I started seeing these overtaking actual lights, it annoyed me, because I was used to seeing better than that, and now seeing inflatables of the Minions, or Baby Yoda, or whatever spread out over people's yards, makes me even more averse to them. This is just how I myself view them, like you said, I'm sure there's kids out there who think they're great and I wouldn't want to deprive them of that joy, it's all just my personal take on the whole thing.
Benvolio wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 17:22
Sounds like you had a nice little Christmas. It also sounds like you ate pretty good too.


Also, Proyorp, as bad as things look right now, you're right, things are improving. I've been doing a lot of things to brighten things up these days, particularly talking with my friend over the phones into the early morning hours for 5-6 hours at a time, watching movies, blowing off steam about the current state of the world, and just finding things to laugh at. Not only that, but I managed to get something this year from someone whose work I'm a huge fan of, and it really means a lot to me. Just a little something to tide me over until I can meet them in person.

I don't know about you, but I still find joy in things like blinking lights and Christmas music. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all of you again! Hope it helped to take a little of your unhappiness away!
Last edited by Soul Monster on Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Merry Christmas 2021!

Post by proYorp »

This Christmas was pretty relaxed for me, or at least that's what I tried to do. Didn't do much for gifts other than participating in a family "Secret Santa" gift exchange. I got some books. :)


Soul Monster wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:38 Wonderful post, Proyorp! Couldn't have said it better myself! I can tell you put a lot of time into making this, and I really enjoyed reading it!
Thanks! I did put a lot of thought into it. Thank you for noticing. :o


Soul Monster wrote:Ah yes, my ramblings on inflatable decorations. [...] This is just how I myself view them, like you said, I'm sure there's kids out there who think they're great and I wouldn't want to deprive them of that joy, it's all just my personal take on the whole thing.
So then that bit about stabbing them all to oblivion was purely in jest? :p Maybe that's obvious, but I admit those comments still gave me a bit of pause. I know people who would, seriously, want to or try to do things like that in real life.


proYorp wrote: I have some... annoyance towards cliche heartbreak songs that are about Christmas (and somehow labeled as "Christmas music"). It seems like such a bizarre (and frankly depressing) combination to me.
Soul Monster wrote: I too don't understand the reasoning behind the sadder tracks we hear this time of year, but at the same time I do. On one hand, I think it's odd that one would want to listen to some of those downer tracks during such a time of festivities and happiness, but we can't forget that Christmas does have a dark side to it, and not everyone gets to have that warm feeling of Christmas this time of the year. Maybe some people don't have many friends or family, maybe some people had families members pass, or they're just alone on Christmas for any possible reason, and this time of year is a cruel reminder of that fact to those people. Perhaps it just reminds them that they're not alone, that other people do have misfortune during Christmas too, and knowing that maybe makes them feel better.
I completely agree. I think that's a good example of something I've been becoming aware of recently, that there's a positive aspect hidden in even the most unseemly things. That like I said earlier, everything that has been created means something to someone. Even things with a generally darker vibe can be strangely uplifting for certain people, which is something I've even experienced myself recently.... (Now if only I can learn what on earth the appeal of "horror" could be aside from sadism I will have achieved enlightenment, but... that's a hard one for me so I'll have to tackle that some other time when I have the energy....)

I tried to soften the language I used to describe my dislike for the sad Christmas songs, because it doesn't really bother me anymore. The main instance I was thinking of was a few years ago when I was first exposed to that kind of music and was rather upset by it. Since then I think I've become less sensitive to things like that bringing my mood down, but I still wanted to get those thoughts out. Maybe it would've been better to write my comments in the past tense, I suppose.
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